Scientific advisory systems have evolved over the years to adapt to countries’ social and political contexts or to respond to emergencies or unusual situations.
Some advisory systems have long trajectories and have been in place for decades, like those in Germany and the UK. Others have been modelled on successful systems and continue to adapt – for example, Canada’s system. Despite their differences, the experiences of existing advisory systems are a valuable source of information for similar systems in other countries. Lessons and good practices are particularly relevant currently as countries devise strategies to recover from the global pandemic and respond to future challenges and rely on science to do so. This document gathers experiences from different advisory systems worldwide and identifies key features that can inform advisory processes elsewhere.